The albums have been graded on the most common grading system used in
Finnish schools. Where 4 is the worst, and 10 is the best. The final score
for the album is most of the times the average for all of the tracks, though it can also change if the reviewer wishes so. The Super Eurobeat Non-Stop albums will be reviewed as full collections, and the individual songs won't be reviewed, unless they are completely new. Though Euromach and JGTC albums for example will have complete song by song reviews.
The grading system simply goes as ie. 4- (3,75), 4 (4), 4+ (4,25) and 4½ (4,5) and the next one again would be 5-. A simple system we have over here in Finland.

Super Eurobeat 194

2.Stephy Martini - Fever Of Love (Dima Music)
Releasing an album with a love song theme could only mean ballads, but
surprisingly enough Avex decided to gun my prejudices down right at the
beginning. Stefania is back with a fairly midpaced lovesong that
instantly conquerors your consciousness. Fever Of Love is a
simple track in every way, but the simplicity this time around feels
thoroughly wellthought instead of leaving it bare. The midpace tempo
fits the song perfectly and it is nice to have a track for a change
where the beat is basically the biggest force pushing the song onwards.
Great vocal work, great melody and an especially effective chorus make
this track one of the better entries from Dima Music so far. With
some extra hooks on the verses this could have been a true perfect cut
gem.Rating : 10-

3.Leslie Parrish - My King Is You (Delta)
This title is absolutely perfect for the theme this album has, the
unfortunate part is that it does somewhat get lost amongst the stronger
entries. My King Is You is like the previous track, a fairly
plain song that emphasises the athmosphere a lot. The song
features one of the better synth hooks this album offers, but the sad
part is that while the verses offer a lot of hooks, the chorus is rather
uninspiring and easily forgettable. The song itself is oddly uplifting
though, the minor flaws in the structure don't drag the whole production
to the ground. The great synth and nice verses always make me feel good,
so it is sad how the chorus then seems like the weakest link. A decent
song that gets stuck between two stronger tracks and is rather easily
skipped.Rating : 7½

4.Domino - Call Me (Go Go's Music)
After the awesome Para Girl I wasn't expecting to get more of as
high quality material, but yet again Alessandra and her crew
managed to surprise me. Call Me is yet an another japanesey song
with an upbeat melody that seems like a straight follow up to the ever
wonderful Playing With Numbers. Upbeat melody and a slighty more
aggresive approach with this song stands out instantly with this album,
for the songs advantage. The song is your basic eurobeat without much
extra to pull you in, so if you enjoy upbeat female type of eurobeat I'd
assume you are perfectly at home here. For the fans of more masculine
music, I can foresee people having trouble with the bubbly attitude
present. A great song with a great athmosphere.Rating : 9+

5.Mike West - All I Want Is You (Time)Time has definitely produced their fair share of slower love
songs through out the year, from my perspective most of them have been
fairly forgettable. All I Want Is You is basically more of the
same old with a few good points that show signs of motivation the
writers have had while creating the music. The sounds are completely
hollow without any edge at all, the synth is absolutely too neutral to
actually sparkle any kind of emotional attachment to the song. Vocals
work alright, but can't really bring life into an otherwise empty
carcass. Boring in pretty much every meaning of the word.Rating : 6

6.Ai Yamamoto - Happy Valentine (SCP)Ai Yamamoto's previous entries divided the listeners pretty
strongly. The vocal work is easily identifiable with the other SCP
girls, but the songs are even slightly more airy than what the label
usually does. Happy Valentine is a love song, but in a slightly
unconventional way. An upbeat mood throughout the song makes the song
like a mental follow up to the bouncy songs the label produced during
the Euromach years. The structure gives out a very strong vibe to the
Melissa White song L.O.V.E. You & Me, from 2002. That does
show the genre and label haven't really moved too far from the older
roots. Melody wise the song is fairly catchy, the chorus itself works
like a charm and the c-melody also sounds fun and bouncy. A nice song
that still can't quite become as addictive as some of the past hits.Rating : 9-

7.Pamsy & Jay Lehr - Give It All Up To Me (SCP)Hearing two rather big names from SCP working in unison is
definitely refreshing, but what do you know, they might have been better
off doing things on their own. Give It All Up To Me sounds very
much alike to Big Heart by its melody and mood, but this one
unfortunately seems like the reject version. Listening to the song is a
bit of a snoozefest since pretty much all parts of the song just sound
uninspirational. The chorus especially is a huge let down since it can't
create any power at all. The sounds have absolutely no edge at all and
it's rather hard to remember the song at all after a while. A
disappointment all around.Rating : 6

8.Pistol Girl - Si La Do (HI-NRG Attack)
Out of all the entries on this album I have to admit that by far Si
La Do surprised me the most. The song breaks down the typical
HI-NRG Attack pattern in such a graceful manner it becomes one of
the label's more memorable songs in years. The track has that strong HRG
trademark attached to it, yet it still sounds refreshingly different and
instantly catchy, something that has lately been missing on a lot of
their productions. The track is not a slower track as one could have
expected due to the album's theme, but instead it's a upbeat track with
an extra memorable chorus. Somehow the syllables in the title also sound
really pleasant when sung, I do admit that I don't know whether it
actually means anything, but I still like how it sounds. Si La Do
is conventional and unconventional at the same time, a really refreshing
production that combines old and classic elements with a new approach
and a very catchy melody.Rating : 10

9.Norma Sheffield - For Your Love (A-Beat C)
Well now I can say that Norma is definitely in the right place.
Love songs have been her strong (and weak) suit all throug the years.
When one thinks about eurobeat and love songs it's definitely Norma
Sheffield who is thought of first. For Your Love is exactly
what you could expect to hear from her though. A light production with
light vocals and a slightly romantic approach with acoustic elements.
There have been times when her tracks have been really memorable, but
this track is unfortunately one of those. For Your Love is in
every way perfect to have as a background music when working, but it's
not solid enough to be 'listened to' full time. Rating : 6

10.Rick Castle - Dolcevita Tonight (HI-NRG Attack)
If Si La Do was unconventional, Dolcevita Tonight doesn't
get left too far behind. Quite truthfully I had a hard time choosing
which one of these two jewels is better in the end. Rick Castle
was the title that brought a slower approach to HI-NRG Attack
tracks in the first place, so it's naturaly to hear him again on a
ballad album. This time around the track isn't exactly slow but it still
has a beautiful and a serene mood to it (as much as the label can really
do with their typical sounds). Dolcevita Tonight is surprisingly
well balanced and it sounds also much more mature than what you usually
hear from the label. The lyrics are the only real flaw again, since too
frequently they just sound like random words linked to eachother. A
great melody, great vocals with slightly silly lyrics, but still an
effective track by HI-NRG Attack.Rating : 10

11.Hely - Forever Sad (Eurogrooves)
A sorrowful title, that isn't exactly an every day thing in eurobeat.
What is even more uncommon is that the tracks would actually accomplish
at sounding mellow and sad. Forever Sad is a good effort though,
but still only comes halfway. The melody does produce a slightly sad
mood to it, but for somehow the vocals still sound rather perky and
maybe are a bit contradictional to the lyrics. As far as sad music goes,
the track still has miles to go before it could actually sound like
something one would listen to when heartbroken or when you are
completely torn down. That is in general a hard feature for eurobeat to
produce while still sounding like eurobeat, well maybe one day we can
get a truly sad song. Forever Sad is not a half bad song itself
though, the sounds are generic but still work out rather fine. Chorus is
catchy and the acoustic c-melody is fun to listen to to.Rating : 8-

12.Kasanova - I Remember (Time)
I am not an overly romantic guy, the moods and cuddliness comes by here
and there, but quite rarely in the long run. When I am actually feeling
tacky and romantic, I do want my music to also be similar. Most of the
time the sappy Time tracks don't really come anywhere close to
the kind of music I prefer listening to, but oddly enough I Remember
does somehow fall into that small niche of my emotional distortion. I
can't call the song one that I would value above anything else, but if I
do feel sappy I can identify with the mood a whole lot. The vocal work
sounds really emotional and while the melody itself isn't instantly
catchy, it does grow on you over time and eventually it became a fun
track to replay over and over. Not for my usual mood, but those few days
of the year I feel like embracing someone, I can see myself listening to
I Remember.Rating : 9-

13.Angie Sweet - Valentine's Day (Eurogrooves)
Well since Valentine's Day has never really made it big in my
country, I can't really say much about the celebration itself. The song
on the other hand is something I can easily golfclub to the ground. The
track is absolutely amazing, amazing in a boring way. The song sounds
really neutral and has absolutely nothing going on for it. The odd
church athmoshpere the track has just makes it seem even more out of
place on a SEB. Maybe it could work out fine in a church in a slower
pace, but here it just sounds like a bad attempt at a love song. Seeing
how the label is capable of producing good love songs, I can easily say
that this is not worth the notion.Rating : 5

14.Virginelle - Fantasy (Sweetest Mix)(A-Beat C)Everyone in the eurobeat world has heard Fantasy, if you
haven't, shame on you. Without a doubt, this song is one of the most
influential ones throughout the years so it does seem justified to get a
remake on a love song themed album. I'm obviously a big fan of Elena
Gobbi, so it's nice to hear her redoing an old classic. The acoustic
intro is one of the most beautiful ones I have come across in the
eurobeat world, and it also fits the old song structure perfectly. In a
way the modernization of the sounds takes some edge off the song, but at
the same time the A-Beat C producers have managed to properly
redo a classic in a completely different way. Chorus is as beautiful as
ever plus the stronger synth somehow fits the track very well. I
originally wouldn't have expected this remake to be as good as it turned
out, but I still have to admit that I enjoy the original tad more, maybe
the nostalgy adds up in the end. Either way, a very beautiful way to end
up a slightly different Super Eurobeat album.Rating : 9½

Final Words :
When this album originally came out, I skipped buying it since I have
never considered myself to be a big fan of love songs or ballads for
that matter. But over time I patched up the missing albums here and
there and have to admit this is one of the very few eurobeat albums that
really needs a lot of attention and time until you can fully appreciate
it. After its release I wouldn't probably have considered liking too
many of the songs, but in the end I came to realize this is actually a
very strong album. The level does sway a lot from the excellent
HI-NRG Attack productions to the more forgettable tracks, but the
good points really make up for the flaws. A strong album with a lot of
beauty in it, the final piece of art in the form of Fantasy (Sweetest
Mix) perfectly sums up the whole album. More aishu, more relaxed and
definitely something more feminine. An album you have to give time to
instead of judging it right off the bat.